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Greetings Fanboys and Fangirls! And welcome to Star Wars Beyond the Films!
This week, true believers, your EU Guru Nathan P. Butler, and The Defender of the EU Mark Hurliman invite Mandalore the Uniter, Tom Hutchens back onto the show. They discuss the Legacy and Travissty of author Karen Traviss, and her impact upon the Expanded Universe, and the Saga as a whole.
Love her, hate her, or just don’t care, fans tended to have strong opinions of her.
The Hosts discuss the situation(s) and some of the perceptions made in Fandom when Karen stepped out of Star Wars for good. In the end, could it be said that she went out in the ranks of SWEU Greats like Timothy Zahn or Micheal Stackpole?
Does creating such depth create a situation for authors to get emotionally attached with their characters? Or for the readers?
Mark mentions Jacen Solo as an example of a character whose payback means more to the reader when they have followed that character for a long time.
Karen like Mathew Stover goes in deep with the background of their stories, and the cultures involved. Can this backfire?
In the Commando series we had a Moral Point Of View on the Jedi. Granted not everyone enjoyed her new POV. But it was one that Palpatine would exploit in years to come, so seeing it begin was refreshing.
They discuss sensational terms like Talifan, Fandalorian, and calling EU Fans Kooks.
Karen gave us some cloned Jedi in A Two-Edged Sword.
Karen also has the most K’Kruhk references in her novels than any other author. Bonus points from Mark for that. 
But not everything Karen brought into the EU fit, sometimes things were overwrote, or just didn’t jive. 
Callista… we’re looking at you dear.
Have you read Traviss’s adaptation of The Clone Wars? It is the only way you will ever truly understand what Rex and the 501st sacrificed for the Jedi.
Nathan sets the tone and some ground facts as the deeper end of the discussion gets underway. As well as points out a lot of valid criticisms from many fans.
Had The Clone Wars forced Karen out? Did business issues drive her out of the franchise? Had an 11th hour scenario created conflicts in the clone/ Mandalorian stories that could have been prevented?
Tom wishes she would have done more than just focused on Mandalorians, perhaps broadened her horizons.
Nathan actually retconed something of Karen’s for The Essential Atlas.
Nathan explored Niche Writer vs Broad Writer styles which spins into a semi-rant about Mary-sue characters.
Tom points out that she was brought on to tell a tale for a certain point of view; the clones. More specifically the Republic Commandos.
Ponders prevail, as the hosts explore how things looked, how they were, and what they could have been, this episode is so controversial we couldn’t tell you all about it here!
You’ll have to listen to the episode to understand.
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